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  Hundred Strong Interview
interview 0306 added 01.06.05 words: K-Per
technical:
QED
Not a name you might be very familiar with, yet Ben Dubuisson
aka Hundred Strong has been actively working from his dingy
basement in Bristol with artists from both sides of the Atlantic
for the last ten years, releasing records under various names
before taking up the Hundred Strong moniker and releasing an
album under the name on the Bristol based Hombre records. Since
then a few more releases on Altered Vibes have kept him busy, as
well as fairly slept on but pretty dope remix of RJD2, and he’s
back this year with a second album taking on a distinctively
more soulful and funky approach, away from the hip hop centric
feel of his first album, but still keeping some of that old boom bap. Ten years on from when he first plugged in an Atari and
Akai to start making beats, we made a call to Bristol to find
out Ben’s thoughts on the new LP, the collaborations, running
small labels and the loudness of recent hip hop tracks.
Well the best place to start would be
with a bit of background info on who you are, how you got
started and what made you want to make music?
 HS: Well I got started production wise in the mid 90s, doing
bits for various labels. I started producing as Hundred Strong
in 2000, doing loads of stuff for Hombre records, a local
Bristol label. I did an LP for them, 'Strength of a Hundred'.
And since then I've done various bits and pieces under the name,
all leading to my new album this summer, ‘Basement Blues’, which
will be out on Altered Vibes.
So how did you get started producing?
HS: Basically I was a drummer first. I’ve been drumming since I
was a kid. I played in bands for a while and then I got
frustrated with always being at the back, behind the singer and
guitarist! So I got an Atari, which I still use for sequencing
today, and an Akai. I got into writing through that and I still
play the drums today, I've still got a lot of love for that. I'm
actually going back to the drums for the live shows, as we'll be
having a full live band on stage to recreate the LP.
So what was your first release?
HS: It was on Cup of Tea records, under the name Purple Penguin.
After that the next major thing was the first LP on Hombre in
2000. I did some 12"s before that as well, and some production
work and drumming in the back as well, doing sessions and
various productions for people. I was doing a fair bit of drum
sessions in the early to mid 90s and then started DJing in clubs
around the same time as well. I dipped my fingers in a lot of
things to do with hip hop since I started, and I've also got a
big love and interest in funk, soul and jazz, which all links
back to hip hop as well. And then electronic music came along,
and that basically allowed you to do everything yourself, which
was one of the things that really attracted me to it. And this
all lead to the new LP, which might not be as hip hop orientated
as the first one, but it's still uses hip hop as its base, its
starting point.
“...I played
in bands for a while and then I got frustrated with always being
at the back, behind the singer and guitarist...”
Actually it's funny you mention you
still use the Atari, because I read that you started on one in
your profile and wanted to ask you what you were using now?
HS: Well like I said, I still use the Atari and the Akai as
well. Mainly to sequence stuff, and then I have a laptop with
Pro Tools, which I use to bounce stuff onto. I do like the
sequencer on the Atari though. And then I used a lot of live
instruments as well, Rhodes for example, which I put into Pro
Tools and then synced with the Atari. I mixed it all down from
there really. I've got a friend in London who works in a studio,
which is also where they publish my stuff, so they let me run it
through their desk, which is nice.
Does it help you get a nicer sound
using their desk?
HS: Yeah, it gives it a nice touch, a warmer edge, which I
really like. So yeah, a lot of it comes out of the Akai as well,
more then the laptop really, and I also use the MPC, sometimes
mastering straight from it too. The MPC's sound is also a bit
nicer then the Akai, that's just got a bit of a cold feel to it.
So putting it through a nice mastering desk or running it
through other things is the way I try to make the music a bit
warmer and nicer to listen to. So it's all done in different
ways really, and for example I think that some of the tracks
that were done mostly on the MPC you can probably tell that they
are compared to the rest.
And what have you been up to since
finishing the LP?
HS: Just getting this live thing together. We're going to have
drums, bass, keys, percussion and decks with singers and
vocalists. Which is a lot of work sorting out and rehearsing!
We're going to be doing some shows, we've got Cargo in London in
July. We're also hoping to do some festivals. I've also been to
Chicago and Milwaukee to do gigs with some of the people
featured on the LP, which was great. And then really just
getting everything ready for the release, as well as digging for
samples for the next one! I can never stop myself doing that.
“...I still
use the Atari and the Akai as well. Mainly to sequence stuff...”
How would you say this album differs
from your last one?
 HS: Er... That's a difficult question actually. On the last LP
there were a lot of MCs, some from Bristol, some from the US.
People like Aspects and All Natural. That LP was also darker and
had more of a hip hop feel to it. This one in contrast is more
soulful, I guess because of the way I was feeling when making
it. The samples I found were more soulful, the singers I worked
with and so on. There is one crew on there, from Milwaukee, who
have their own sound and really nicely managed to bring it to
the record as well. It's basically also full of people who I
really like personally and so it makes for interesting
collaborations throughout.
Yeah I was going to ask you about the
featurings, as there are quite a lot on this new LP. How did it
work out for you? Was it a lot of back and forth?
HS: Yeah, a lot. It was a real pain in a way (laughs). It would
have been better if I could have had every one in the studio to
jam together, but it wasn't to be. I'd love to find someone I
can work with on an album, from start to finish like that, but
it hasn't happened yet. It's also easier to do it that way for
the moment, even if you don't get to interact with the artists
so much. Thing is ultimately you can't afford to do studio
sessions constantly when you're on a budget so I had to do it
that way. There are a lot of good people in Bristol, which I
wouldn't mind working with but for this LP I didn't want to do
so much stuff with MCs and instead concentrate on working with
other people and following the influences of the LP.
“...[the
album] is basically full of people who I really like personally
and so it makes for interesting collaborations throughout...”
And how many records did you sample for
this album then?
HS: Loads man. I can't even remember where the samples come from
for some of the tracks. I always try to go for obscure stuff,
away from the beaten path. Some I sample direct and some I
replay or get someone to replay for me. I'd say it's probably
about 50 odd records on there.
Are you more partial to sampling from
records rather than using synths or plug-ins like a lot of new
productions do today?
HS: Yeah definitely. I just like the warmth of sampling vinyl. I
hear all this new stuff and it sounds great. You play it on a
big system and it sounds amazing even, but it's not really for
me. It's not what I want. If I could get a band in a studio,
record them and create tons of loops from that I would. But I
can't so I make do with what I have. The thing is as well with
all these new productions, I find that they tire your ears after
a while. It's good but it gets into your head and becomes a bit
too much. It's good for clubs but that's it. Whereas this album,
is more of a listener's album, something you can put on and
chill to. I've heard some stuff from the guys I worked with in
the US and it sounds amazing, using synths and making big
sounding records. But this new LP is I guess on the other side
of this whole thing, towards a calmer and like I said more
soulful end.
“...So [the
album] was all done in different ways really, and I think that
some of the tracks that were done mostly on the MPC you can
probably tell that they are compared to the rest...”
Cool. And how's your label going?
HS: The little High Noon? It's going good. It's really just
about finding people in Bristol who have got stuff to put out
but no real outlet for it. So it's been good so far and we've
got another 3 releases in the works for when I have the money to
put them out. There's some raggae stuff coming from a local crew
which is great, bits from a local hip hop band and a live band
I've recorded with before as well. We'll be doing 7" for most of
it I think. We always sell out the copies and make our money
back which is the most important. I think it's good to have
different outlets for stuff and also because there are a lot of
talented producers around here, so if we can help then it's all
good.
Any last words?
HS: I hope people enjoy the album and see that we've put our
soul into it. There's a lot of feelings and I hope that comes
across.
-
K-Per
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